U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Biden administration's student loan debt relief plan

The White House responded in a press release that "the court's decision to strike down our student debt relief plan is wrong" and "this fight is not over."

WASHINGTON, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday struck down the Biden administration's plan to forgive student debt for millions of borrowers.

In a 6-to-3 decision along ideological lines, the conservative-dominated Supreme Court rejected the Biden administration's arguments that the plan was lawful under a 2003 law called the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act (HEROES Act).

The text of the HEROES Act does not authorize the secretary of education's loan forgiveness program, said the court, adding that the secretary's power under the act to "modify" does not permit "basic and fundamental changes in the scheme" designed by the U.S. Congress.

The Biden administration announced a plan last year to cancel up to 20,000 U.S. dollars for federal student loan borrowers who received a Pell Grant, a form of federal financial aid issued to lower-income students that does not have to be repaid, and up to 10,000 dollars for those who did not receive a Pell Grant. Borrowers are eligible for the relief if they earn less than 125,000 dollars per year individually, or less than 250,000 dollars per year as a family.

The plan will cancel about 430 billion dollars in debt principal and affect nearly all borrowers. Six Republican-led states challenged the plan as exceeding the secretary of education's statutory authority.

"The secretary asserts that the HEROES Act grants him the authority to cancel 430 billion dollars of student loan principal. It does not," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts, who authored the majority opinion.

U.S. President Joe Biden walks on the South Lawn to board Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, March 9, 2023.(Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

Members of the Republican Party praised the court's rejection of the Biden administration's plan, while Democrats slammed the decision.

The White House responded in a press release that "the court's decision to strike down our student debt relief plan is wrong" and "this fight is not over."

Biden said in the press release that his administration's student debt relief plan would have been "the lifeline tens of millions of hardworking Americans needed as they try to recover from a once-in-a-century pandemic."

"I will stop at nothing to find other ways to deliver relief to hard-working middle-class families. My administration will continue to work to bring the promise of higher education to every American."

"President Biden's student loan giveaway is ruled UNLAWFUL. The 87 percent of Americans without student loans are no longer forced to pay for the 13 percent who do," U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, wrote in a tweet, adding that "the president must follow the law."

Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy speaks to the press after a meeting with President Joe Biden on debt ceiling in Washington, D.C., the United States, May 22, 2023. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua)

The U.S. Supreme Court decisions made headlines for a second day in a row across the country. The court on Thursday ruled that race-conscious admissions policies used by colleges and universities are unconstitutional, in a pair of cases involving Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The Washington Post described Friday's decision as "the latest blow from a Supreme Court that has been dismissive of this administration's bold claims of power."

Another major U.S. news outlet, CNN, said the decision is "a stinging defeat" for Biden.

"Conservatives -- despite their limited federal elected power -- have racked up more huge wins in the great political battles of the early 21st century," CNN commented in a news analysis.